Posted By Mike Petraglia On November 11, 2011 @ 9:12 am In General | No Comments

Default Player for embeding in WEEI.com columns and blogs

brightcove.createExperiences();

Before scoring two goals in Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Oilers, Brad Marchand[1] had just one goal since his power play score on opening night against the Flyers.

There was some thought that maybe – just maybe – he was putting pressure on himself to produce after signing his two-year, $5 million contract extension in mid-September.

“I don’t want to change my game, change how I play,” Marchand said, before admitting he’s now a focal point of defenses. “It’s a little tougher out there. You have to face [expectations] but, for the most part, I just want to play the same way.”

The chances were certainly there throughout the first 13 games. But he had just two goals and five assists to show for his work.

On Thursday, those chances turned into goals, two to be exact, as Marchand took a little time to exhale.

“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “It was nice to get the monkey off the back it was definitely getting frustrating, missing a lot of opportunities, so it was nice to get a couple.

“I think the big thing was keep it a little more simple and getting pucks to the net. I was getting a lot of opportunities and they just weren’t going in. And if you keep pushing and keep getting opportunities then eventually something is going to go in and that’s what happened.”

Now, the Bruins are back at .500 at 7-7-0 and Marchand hopes his game will ride the momentum of the team’s four-game winning streak.

“Definitely, it’s nice to get back to .500 here and obviously we are a little ways from where we want to be and where we should be, but we’re definitely taking steps forward,” he said.

Does he feel he is out of a scoring slump?

“I don’t know it’s just one game, you have to keep going forward and keep things simple and hopefully they keep going in,” he said. “I just got a little luck out there. That’s how it goes sometimes. I went longer spurts last year without scoring goals and it’s just how it goes. Things go up and down. You can’t get too high or too low. It’s hockey.”